bingobobbo

I decided to open a thread for the late-month warm spell instead of having people post in the long-range fall thread. Today's high in Binghamton was 78 degrees, about 14 above average. Tomorrow's record high here is merely 79 degrees (the first sub-80 record high since mid-April). NWS is predicting a high of 77 for tomorrow (though they predicted a mere 75 for today). I am curious as to whether we make it tomorrow. I hope that Portland, ME made it to their record of 80 today.

March began on a blah note, with cloudy, cold, uneventful weather during the first week. We did have two inches of snow on the morning of March 8, which was a pleasant surprise because they had predicted less than one inch. After that came a warmup, with temperatures reaching the upper 40s on the 9th and the mid-50s the next day. Unfortunately, it did not last because clouds increased on the 11th, leading to an all-day moderate rain on the 12th. The rain was heavy for a few hours around midday. After that came a long dry spell, with light snow all we had for a while. The 13th saw an exciting snow squall as a cold front went through. March 18 saw a quick three inches of snow accumulate--during the day at that. It was quite a contrast to the 74-degree high of March 18, 2012! The next day saw some fascinating conditions: a quick inch of snow early in the morning, followed by bright sun and 39-degree temperatures at midday, melting most of our existing snow. An hour later, we were getting sleeted on. Then came a half hour of bright sun, followed by another spate of snow and sleet. After that came a series of cloudy, cold, dry days. Easter weekend saw ordinary conditions--Easter itself saw spotty light rain. March ended up as the driest month of the year and the only month with less than two inches of precipitation. It was also our coldest March in 8 years.

April started out cold, with a one-inch snow squall the morning of the second. Apr. 2 saw our first record low temperature of the year, at 19 degrees. It was also our first sub-20 day in April since 2007. The air was slow to warm up after that, but the sun was pleasant to look at. I was in Wilkes Barre, PA for a four-day period, and it was chilly and dry during my four-day stay there. April 7 saw our first truly springlike day since March 10, with the temperature reaching the low 60s. We had two more pleasant days before the rain and chill returned by midweek. Milder air returned the following week for a bit, followed by two cloudy days, then the most dramatic weather of the month, on the 19th. The temperature that afternoon reached the upper 60s before a strong cold front set off an exciting squall line, dumping a quick three quarters of an inch of rain, along with very strong wind gusts. At first, I thought it was a tornado, but fortunately, none materialized. The rest of the month was generally seasonable to mild, with my 52nd b-day seeing a high of 68 degrees. We did not reach 70 officially in either March or April, the first time that had occurred since 1980. Because of the cold start, it was our coolest April in six years.

The month of February began with cloudy, cold conditions. We had a surprise lake-effect snow event on Super Bowl Sunday evening, giving us two inches of fluff. After a few cold days, all eyes turned on the blizzard. I wasn't on the forums much becaause of illness, then vacation. We had a moderate storm--six inches, but New England had its biggest storm in almost exactly 35 years, getting walloped by as much as 3 feet. I was actually rooting against this storm because I had a plane flight out of Binghamton on Feb. 9. fortunately, that was not affected. While I was in Florida, the weather in upstate NY was uneventful, and the snow melted slowly. In St. Petersburg, we had June-like conditions (for upstate NY) for a couple of days, reaching 78 degrees on Feb. 12. Cooler, moister air arrived by Wednesday, and Valentine's Day was showery. Friday the 15th (Astweroid Day in Russia) was chilly and Octoberlike in Florida.

Feb. 16 saw us return to the Northeast in seasonably cold air, followed by frigid temperatures--7 above--the next two days. The 18th did not feel very cold because of sunny skies and light winds. Feb. 19 saw a snow/sleet mix and temperatures around freezing. as nightfall approached, we had a heavy sleet shower. It was treacherous for walking, and I am thankful that my friend Scott gave me a ride home from the Sierra Club meeting that night. After that came two cloudy, cold days, followed by seasonable weather. Saturday, Feb. 23 saw a cold light rain, followed by the prediction of a major snow squall the next day. All we had were light flurries. The month ended with a major storm on Feb. 26-26. The storm began as two inches of snow but quickly turned to rain. Feb. 27 was arguably the nastiest day of the year, with 34-degree air and a cold rain falling all day. The month ended with an hour of rare sunshine, as well as showers and flurries--and a fairly mild 36-degree high--on the 28th. It was a consistently seasonably cold month, with no truly mild days. It was only the fourth February since records began in 1951 in which it failed to reach 40 degrees; the other three were 1964, 1978, and 2010.